Soviet Denmark

It is rumored that Churchill sent Montgomery to take Lübeck and northern Germany to prevent the Soviets from invading then German occupied Denmark.

What if the Soviets managed to occupy Denmark? Would the Soviets use this as an excuse to modify the partition plan of Germany? How would the People's Republic of Denmark be like?
 
As the Soviets left Bornholm after a years occupation they demanded only Danish forces to be stationed there.
They would probably have done that to the rest of Denmark too, had they occupied that - so a kind of Finlandization.

If the Soviets decided to stay it would be viewed as a second occupation. With the weapons in place during WWII a uprising alongside the Hungarian in 1956 could be a possibility.

Perhaps suggest an exchange - Denmark for Germany east of the Elbe??
But probably not.

Peoples Republic - agrarian society to supply Mother Russia with grain, pork and beef.
 
The Soviets agreed with the partition made at Yalta.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalta_Conference
I doubt the gains of occupying Denmark are big enough to break that agreement for the Soviets.
Even if the Soviets make a move towards Denmark, the Allies can always quickly send some troops to at least occupy a part of Denmark ahead of the Soviets.
The Soviets won't have any shipping whatsoever to use there, so the Allies can move quicker.
 
The Soviets agreed with the partition made at Yalta.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalta_Conference
I doubt the gains of occupying Denmark are big enough to break that agreement for the Soviets.
Even if the Soviets make a move towards Denmark, the Allies can always quickly send some troops to at least occupy a part of Denmark ahead of the Soviets.
The Soviets won't have any shipping whatsoever to use there, so the Allies can move quicker.

They had shipping to move troops to Bornholm though, but a landing in Sjaelland with a token force might well trigger a German as well as a Danish response, as the Germans only wanted to surrender to the Western Allies and the Danish politicians and army were terrified of a Soviet Communist take-over.

It would wreck a lot of destruction in Denmark, something nobody seemed interested in.
 

Redbeard

Banned
They had shipping to move troops to Bornholm though, but a landing in Sjaelland with a token force might well trigger a German as well as a Danish response, as the Germans only wanted to surrender to the Western Allies and the Danish politicians and army were terrified of a Soviet Communist take-over.

It would wreck a lot of destruction in Denmark, something nobody seemed interested in.

Exactly - the closer the prospect of German capitualtion came, the more all planning and action in the (non-communist) resistance movement were about preventing a communist take-over in Denmark. The communists were a major part in the active part of the resistance and it was feared that in case of German capitulation/evacuation the communists would simply take over and invite the Soviets. The Brigade raised among refugees in Sweden had securing Copenhagen from communist take-over as its main task and a large number of relatively well-equipped "waiting-groups" in the non-communist resistance were instructed to keep a low profile until the capitulation - in order to be ready to challenge the communists if necessary.

It is my impression that the communists realised that they were de facto chess mate in May 1945 and therefore never seriously tried to go for a takeover. They also knew from the Greek events, that the British were ready to actively fight communist movements after German evacuation. So if the communists/Soviets for some reason had tried more seriously to take over I'm quite certain that it would have lead to civil war in Denmark and soon international intervention too. Unless of course we have major PoDs like no western allied presence on the European continent (failed D-day?) and the Soviets well on the way of seizing the whole continent.

Regards

Steffen Redbeard
 
Exactly - the closer the prospect of German capitualtion came, the more all planning and action in the (non-communist) resistance movement were about preventing a communist take-over in Denmark. The communists were a major part in the active part of the resistance and it was feared that in case of German capitulation/evacuation the communists would simply take over and invite the Soviets. The Brigade raised among refugees in Sweden had securing Copenhagen from communist take-over as its main task and a large number of relatively well-equipped "waiting-groups" in the non-communist resistance were instructed to keep a low profile until the capitulation - in order to be ready to challenge the communists if necessary.

It is my impression that the communists realised that they were de facto chess mate in May 1945 and therefore never seriously tried to go for a takeover. They also knew from the Greek events, that the British were ready to actively fight communist movements after German evacuation. So if the communists/Soviets for some reason had tried more seriously to take over I'm quite certain that it would have lead to civil war in Denmark and soon international intervention too. Unless of course we have major PoDs like no western allied presence on the European continent (failed D-day?) and the Soviets well on the way of seizing the whole continent.
You are as always quite right, Steffen, however, this scenario deals with a Soviet "liberation" of Denmark, which means the Red Army.

I'm not sure how the restistance movement, the Allies and/or the Brigade would react. I'm almost certain the danish irregular forces and the brigade would have little opportunity to play a role in such a case. Most likely our dear liberators would move to disarm the resistance movement, set up some sort of government based on the communists and prepare to leave at some point in the future... unless asked to stay by the new danish government.

My regards

- Bluenote.
 
When the Soviet armies are 2 days from the danish border Sweden moves and sends a few companies to secure Copenhagen. German troops surrender en masse
 
Soviet Occupation of Denmark 1945

My understanding is that Blumentritt "aided" the British advance by not strongly resisting the allies once across the Elbe at Lauernburg on May 1st and that he had established contact with Montgomery before the arrival of the main German surrender delegation at Luneburg Heath.

I suppose that had a more hardline German commander been in place, the British could have been delayed crossing the Elbe (a crossing resisted by the Luftwaffe and SS troops) allowing the Russians to sweep along the Baltic coast. The British would have been further held by the chaos of the retreat of the Germans facing the Red Army.

Let's suppose the Russians reach the Danish border on May 3rd or 4th. It's likely German troops would have resisted not least to defend ports where refugees from the Baltic were arriving.

I don't know what the Swedes could or would have done. They didn't intervene in Norway when the Russians entered from the north - why and on what basis would they have crossed over to Copenhagen ?

Steffan, whose expertise I bow to in these matters, makes valid points about the nature of the resistance. Would the Soviet commander have respected or dealt with a Danish provisional Government such as occurred in OTL ? it seems improbable as Aksel Larsen was hardly a Moscow man compared with the German communists sent to Berlin in the wake of the Red Army.

The Russians would have had to deal with the resistance and the indigenous Danish political leader so perhaps Larsen and communist supporters take key positions in a Social Democrat-led Government. It seems improbable that the Red Army could have forced a maerger between the Social Democrats and Communists such as happened in the Russian sector of Germany in 1946.

Given the huge strategic importance of the Kattegat and Skaggerak, I can't see the Soviets just walking away without something. One possibility I suppose is the "Finland"-type solution with Denmark completely neutral. This might be as part of a Nordic neutrality solution in which both Washington and Moscow agree to the neutrality of Norway, Denmark and Finland - this would be advantageous to the Russians in terms of access to and from the Barents Sea and the Baltic.

Politically, in OTL, the Communists won 18 seats on 12.5% of the vote in the October 1945 election bur declined soon after. It might be different in a Denmark more under Soviet influence. The Communists, as part of the Left bloc, could retain a presence in Government for some time.

I don't subscribe to the Greece scenario - it didn't happen in Austria for example though attitudes to the Russians would be different if they indulged in some of the excesses seen in Germany. That might well happen of course.
 

Valdemar II

Banned
This reminds me, I once read a Danish AH novel, where Denmark was split in a Capitalistic West and a Communist SSR in the East.

The West was made up Fuen and Jutland (+Flensburg)

While the East was Zeeland and Lolland-Falster, while Bornholm was a depopulated Millitary base.
 
This reminds me, I once read a Danish AH novel, where Denmark was split in a Capitalistic West and a Communist SSR in the East.

The West was made up Fuen and Jutland (+Flensburg)

While the East was Zeeland and Lolland-Falster, while Bornholm was a depopulated Millitary base.

Yeah, I remember it too. Wasn't it written by Gunnar Dyrberg? Eksplosioner i Maj (Explosions in Maj) or some such?

- B.
 
Would the Soviet commander have respected or dealt with a Danish provisional Government such as occurred in OTL ? it seems improbable as Aksel Larsen was hardly a Moscow man compared with the German communists sent to Berlin in the wake of the Red Army.
I'm not certain Aksel Larsen was in Denmark at the time. I think he arrived on the White Busses later. And if memory serves me right he only became a harsh critic of Moscow after the uprisng in Hungary.

That said and done, there was a hardcore group of communists in Denmark that might (or might not, it's hard to call really) would have formed a pro-soviet government if the Red Army insisted. Don' forget that said communists loyally followed Moscow's lead and remained very friendly with the Germans until the invasion of the USSR.

Anyhow, with the Red Army in Denmark, I find it hard to believe the resistance movement even with the help of the Brigade - a police force really - could have done much about it. Armed resistance might even prove to be counter productive, giving the Soviets an excuse to clean house and get rid of all those fascists clearly still in Denmark.

Regards

- Mr. B.
 

Valdemar II

Banned
Yeah, I remember it too. Wasn't it written by Gunnar Dyrberg? Eksplosioner i Maj (Explosions in Maj) or some such?

- B.

Yes, I found it quite interesting especially the protagonist hostilety toward unification.

Eksplosion i Maj. Danmark, hvis Stalin var kommet først. (1994; Holkenfeldt)

(Explosions in May. Denmark if Stalin had come first.)
 
Yes, I found it quite interesting especially the protagonist hostilety toward unification.

Eksplosion i Maj. Danmark, hvis Stalin var kommet først. (1994; Holkenfeldt)

(Explosions in May. Denmark if Stalin had come first.)
Quite so, I liked it too. Except for the rather peculiar plot twist with the infected rats, it was rather well written and interesting. Eh, it was rats infected with a biological agent that was the MacGuffin, right? Suddenly I'm in doubt whether I remember it correctly. Anyway, it's a good read.

Best regards

- Bluenote.
 
With a determined German defence on the Elbe and in Denmark 1 Brigade, 1 Airborne Division would be alerted and flown into Denmark to occupy Copenhagen. That would bring us back to the reversed East-West situation described by Redbeard in some earlier thread.
In such a situation the Soviets would probably retreat as in Norway.
As in Norway the Swedes would probably not interfere but the Danish Brigade could still be ferried over to join 1 Airborne Brigade.
The 1 Airborne would only have to hold on for a few days until surrender would be signed.

The thing is would be British dare do so in a fluid situation?
 
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